startup ingredients (team, solving a problem, customers)
TRANSCRIPT
@johnjpeebles@johnjpeebles
“It should be hard. But maybe it could be just a little bit
easier, too.”
@johnjpeebles
“The average programmer reads less than one technical book a year.”
– Steve McConnell
“The average programmer or technical lead never reads about team building or team preservation.”
– John Peebles
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A GREAT TEAM CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
Fantastic products
Unbelievable outcomes
Size is almost irrelevant
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- JOHN CARMACK, ID SOFTWARE
"I actually have been learning quite a bit about software development, both on the personal craftsman level but also paying more attention by what it means on the team dynamics side of things….It’s about social interactions between the programmers or even between yourself spread over time…”
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- FRED WILSON, USV
We made the classic mistake that all investors make. We focused too much on what they were doing at the time and not enough on what they could do, would do, and did do. I am proud that our portfolio is full of companies where we saw the vision before other investors did and backed a great team. But we don't always get it right. We missed Airbnb even though we loved the team. Big mistake.
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AGILE AND LEAN: BUILT ON THE ASSUMPTION OF GREAT TEAMS
Ever seen Agile in a Large Corporate Environment?
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TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.TEAM. TEAM. TEAM. TEAM.
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Problem Solvers• Earn more money
• Are key to their team’s success
• Are the best developers /designers / managers / etc.
• Can be the difference between success and failure
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“It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them."
— Steve Jobs
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
–Henry Ford
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Know• Develop your Personas
• Observe the Job
• Work the Job
• Visualise the Job
• Learn the entire process
• Understand motivations and incentives
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Techniques of Problem Discovery• Reject the Premise of the Question• Use the 5 Whys?• Take nothing as “given”• Don’t listen to users, watch users!
Work their job!
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A Quick Review
• Products are really problem solvers(sometimes cloaked with software).
• The best products are workflow driven and are built by people who have a deep understanding of the problem environment.
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Narrative
Cheap and effective glue between people, products, design, and understanding.
Narrative is communication.
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When to Use Narrative
Product design
Product onboarding
Product troubleshootingYour brand (mascot)
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WARNINGNarrative requires responsibility!
You will shape the debate / discussion /memory / perception with your story.
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The Challenge
Incorporating narrative is (relatively) easy.
Crafting relevant narrative is hard.
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The Short Story Arc
1. Have a character. Make them flawed.
2. Explain their problem. Include some false starts.
3. Provide the solution.
#ProTip – Inject absurdity for humour!
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Pixar Tells Great Stories
Once upon a time ______. Every day, ______. One day, ______. Because of that ______.
Because of that, ______. Until finally, ______.
The End.
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Make Sure You Practice
1. My wife and family
2. Shopkeepers, Taxi Drivers, etc.
3. Coworkers
4. Meetings
#ProTip: Keep it short!
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Introverts vs. Extroverts
Most of us are ambiverts.
Introverts are usually better observers.
Remember - the medium can be adjusted.
@johnjpeebles@johnjpeebles
WORKSHOP
One actionable improvement:
1. You can make to your team.2. Make to your customer persona.3. To inject narrative into your product or pitch.